Cloquet Public Schools (ISD 94)
Cloquet Public Schools, ISD 94, enrolled about 2,529 students in 2024-2025 across four attendance-area buildings: two elementaries, one middle school, one high school. It is the largest district in Carlton County and the third largest in this guide, behind Duluth and Superior. For a buyer, its useful feature is scale: Cloquet is the only community in the county with a district big enough to carry a broad high school program, and it is the only one with a real rental market to land in first.
About Cloquet Public Schools
The district covers Cloquet, Scanlon, and surrounding Carlton County ground, about twenty-five minutes southwest of Duluth. It reported 160 teacher FTE against 2,529 students, a student-teacher ratio of about 15.8 to 1 (NCES Common Core of Data, accessed 2026-08-14), which is a staffing ratio rather than an average class size.
Carlton County is unusually fragmented for its population: within a short drive of Cloquet there are four separate public districts, ISD 94 here, Esko's ISD 99, Carlton's ISD 93, and Wrenshall's ISD 100. That fragmentation is the main reason a buyer in this county cannot reason about schools from the nearest town's name. It also means the districts differ sharply in size, from 2,529 students here down to 308 in Carlton.
Schools in the district
Washington Elementary is the larger of the two elementaries at 495 students, with Churchill at 351; both run preschool through grade 4. Cloquet Middle School takes grades 5 through 8 with 752 students, an unusually large middle school for the region and a consequence of pulling four grades into one building. Cloquet Senior High School takes grades 9 through 12 with 761.
The district also runs an early childhood program, the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Programs for grades 6 to 12 with 74 students, an extended day program attached to it, and a shared-time program. Those enroll from across the district and have no attendance boundary, which is why the federal count reads eight schools while a parent would say four.
Enrollment & performance
At 2,529 students, ISD 94 is roughly twice the size of Esko and eight times the size of Carlton. Cloquet Senior High at 761 is the fourth largest high school in this guide, behind Duluth East, Superior, and Denfeld, and ahead of Hermantown, Proctor, and Two Harbors. Families weighing a small district against a large one will find Cloquet close to the middle of that trade: enough scale for a wide course and activity menu, not so much that a student disappears in it.
Minnesota publishes no single district grade, and this guide does not create one. The Minnesota Report Card carries the state's own achievement, progress, graduation, and attendance reporting by school and by student group.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-2025 release (LEA 2709420), accessed 2026-08-14 (2024-2025).
Attendance boundaries
One internal line matters and it expires early. The Churchill and Washington elementary boundary applies through grade 4 only; from grade 5 onward every student in the district is at Cloquet Middle School and then Cloquet Senior High. So a family buying with a fourth-grader has a much shorter horizon on that question than a family buying with a kindergartner.
The district edge is the more consequential boundary. Because four districts converge in a small area, addresses on the outskirts of Cloquet can fall to Esko, Carlton, or Wrenshall. Confirm with the district for a specific parcel, and do not infer the district from the mailing address or from which town's water tower you can see.
Neighborhoods this district serves
Two communities in this guide are in ISD 94: Cloquet itself and Scanlon, the small city immediately east on the St. Louis River, which has no schools of its own and sends its students here. Buyers comparing districts in this county usually put Cloquet against Esko, which is smaller, more expensive, and has almost no rentals, and against Carlton, which is smaller again and sits at the Jay Cooke gateway.
Common questions about Cloquet Public Schools
How is the Cloquet district organized?
Two elementaries covering preschool through grade 4, Churchill at 351 students and Washington at 495; then Cloquet Middle School for grades 5 to 8 with 752; then Cloquet Senior High School for grades 9 to 12 with 761. The elementary boundary is the only internal line, and it stops mattering after grade 4.
How does Cloquet compare in size?
About 2,529 students, which makes it the largest district in Carlton County and the third largest in this guide after Duluth and Superior. Cloquet Senior High at 761 is larger than Hermantown, Proctor, or Two Harbors, and smaller than Denfeld.
Does Scanlon have its own schools?
No. Scanlon is a separate small city on the St. Louis River immediately east of Cloquet, and its students attend ISD 94. That is one of the practical reasons Scanlon works as a lower-priced alternative to a Cloquet address.
Is Cloquet the only school district in the area?
No, and Carlton County is unusually fragmented for its population. Esko runs ISD 99, Carlton runs ISD 93, and Wrenshall runs ISD 100, all within a short drive. Addresses near the edges of Cloquet can fall into any of them, so confirm the district for a specific parcel rather than assuming the nearest town's schools apply.
Where these facts come from
- NCES Common Core of Data, district and school directory 2024-2025, Cloquet Public School District (LEA 2709420) accessed 2026-08-14
- Cloquet Public Schools ISD 94, district website accessed 2026-08-14
- Minnesota Report Card, Minnesota Department of Education accessed 2026-08-14